About two dozen asylum seekers on Nauru are on a hunger strike, and another is so sick he's been flown to Australia for treatment. A Nauruan government official's told Saturday AM some detainees tried to stop workers helping a man attempting to hang himself this week.

Transcript

ELIZABETH JACKSON: A Facebook page set up by asylum seekers on Nauru describes scenes of chaos with reports of self-harming, assault, roll calls in the middle of the night, numerous suicide attempts and a general atmosphere of tension and severe frustration.

But a Nauruan government official has today told Saturday AM there's just a small group of detainees who are causing the trouble and they're inciting others to join in.

Matthew Batsua, is a senior member of the Nauruan government and he says the same group even tried to stop health workers helping a man who attempted to hang himself this week.

Tom Nightingale reports.

TOM NIGHTINGALE: The desperation of one detainee in the Nauru detention centre led him to try to hang himself inside the site's laundry on Thursday night.

The Nauru government's Matthew Batsua says what happened immediately after was shocking.

MATTHEW BATSUA: When they were trying offer the help that he obviously required, they were being obstructed by others who were keen to see a negative outcome.

TOM NIGHTINGALE: He's a senior member of the government, and co-chairs the committee set up to oversee the centre.

He says a small group of detainees are protesting and trying to encourage others to join them.

MATTHEW BATSUA: To me and to the Nauru government, this is sadly behaviour that concerns us seriously. If they have their issues they should pursue those issues individually, but they should not be compromising others as well

TOM NIGHTINGALE: The Nauru government has begun interviewing asylum seekers to process their refugee claims.

Matthew Batsua says some are pressuring others not to co-operate, in the hope that their claims will instead be processed by Australia.

Professor Louise Newman from Monash University headed a government advisory panel on the mental health of asylum seekers for four years.

LOUISE NEWMAN: I've heard reports from detainees and from staff that there have been some elements of coercion where some individuals who are very determined to engage in protest and hunger striking have encouraged others to be involved.

TOM NIGHTINGALE: She says people inside the centre are under extreme pressure.

LOUISE NEWMAN: Look, that's fairly, sadly very typical in those sorts of very emotionally charged environments where people are at high levels of tension and high levels of distress. So we - people can be, if you like, encouraged to engage in that sort of activity.

What we probably have is a minority group who are extremely determined to continue protest because really they see themselves as having very little other option or ways of influencing the situation they find themselves in.

TOM NIGHTINGALE: But Mr Batsua says the island is well equipped to cope. And he says local authorities haven't been surprised by what's resulted.

MATTHEW BATSUA: We went into this with our eyes wide open. We did expect that there'll be a strong resistance to being processed in Nauru.

TOM NIGHTINGALE: Yesterday an Iranian man was flown to an undisclosed Australian hospital for medical treatment that's not possible in Nauru after a hunger strike lasting 50 days. Professor Newman says others could follow.

LOUISE NEWMAN: I understand there's at least one other person where transport to the mainland for medical treatment is being considered.

TOM NIGHTINGALE: Considered or recommended?

LOUISE NEWMAN: Recommended.

TOM NIGHTINGALE: How urgent do you understand the request to evacuate him to be? How urgent is that?

LOUISE NEWMAN: I'm not sure of the current urgency but I am aware that recommendations have been made that the person should be transferred.

TOM NIGHTINGALE: The Immigration Department and the company contracted to provide medical services on Nauru wouldn't comment on whether a second detainee has been recommended to be evacuated.

According to Mr Batsua, about two dozen others on Nauru are on hunger strikes. But he doesn't think the Iranian man being flown to Australia will lead others putting themselves in similar states.

MATTHEW BATSUA: Those kind of things are hard to predict. It may not happen. All I do know is the number of people participating in voluntary starvation decreased since we announced and since we've commenced the transferee interviews.

TOM NIGHTINGALE: The Immigration Department says the Iranian man flown to Australia will be returned to Nauru once he's judged healthy enough to travel.

ELIZABETH JACKSON: Tom Nightingale with that report.And the Minister for Immigration, Chris Bowen, declined an interview this morning with Saturday AM.